Our staffy seems to be losing fur around his eyes and under his chin.  He's 9 months.  Could it be mange?  And if so, how would you treat it?  We've treated our other dog for mange before and the stuff smelt like white spirit, I wouldn't want to put that near his eyes. Should I take him to the vets?

i am using that stuff but my vet said 2 spunge it around the eyes its the best stuff x

Hi Charly,
  I would definitely ask the vet to check it out.  My dog started with symptoms like this, also at 9 months, and the vet said it was an allergy to something in his environment.  It still flares up now and again (he's 3 now), and I use an antibiotic cream on his chin and also under his nose where he goes bald, and have prednisole forte eyedrops which clears things up in no time.  Check with your vet anyway,
  Hilda     PS About a year after the first symptoms, my dog also started getting bald patches on his back legs/thighs - steroids worked for a while, but then I found Quistel Lotion, and haven't looked back since.  Can't spray that round the eyes though.

I've got to take him to the vets for a checkup on something else next week, so will ask then.  Thanks for your replies.

I have a 14 month old staff and ive had nothing but skin problems too, I must have had her the vet at least 10 times, the vets dont seem to be interested and said its common for bull dog types to have skin problems

hi,one of my staffs had a problem with bald patches around the eye's also on the top of her head ,was given antibiotics,steriods for her but nothing worked,the vet then sent us 2 the aht where they tested for lots of things after alot testing etc found she had allergies 2 dust mites and grass (not the best thing 2 be allergic 2)it has been about a year now and she is looking great ,has 2 go 2 the vets evey month for a jab 2 keep it under controll x x

ITS NOT MANGE !!!, and please don't treat it as mange, as it can cause more problems I've seen hundreds of these " Bald "patches on the head and around the eyes.

Its very common in young staffords, its a sign that the skull is growing , Treart with an good qaulity 9nonsteriod) antisepic cream ( I'd recommend  Vetzyme 's)

Other SBt skin problems are common particularly among  certain brindle lines. and are at the moment quite diffiuclt to pinpoint, often it's treatable as a gluten allergy or with careful diet and a regular treatment of Malaserb shampoo ( Avialable  from your vet.)

my staffy boy whos now 17 months had really thin fur and bald patches till just recently.I've always given him a high dose evening primrose capsule every day, and now his fur is thick and glossy.The vet said its really common in staffs so try not to worry!!:):)

Hi All,
We have a 4.5 months old minpin and we took him to the vet earlier 2day with the same problem. Not so bald patches but more like moth-eaten appearance on his head. This is his 3rd visit to the vet and still no diagnosys.
He THINKS it might be demodectic mange (although mother has't got it and puppy can only get it from the mother) and reccomended skin scraping or a skin specialist oponion (that costs £150)!!
We believe it might be ear mites as when we clean his ears with cotton buds a lot of browny/black stuff comes out, which suggests it might be ear mites and he also shakes his head and scrathes a lot (he's having regular Advocate treatments). He was on antibiotics for 2wks but it didnt work.

We will continue with Advocate for another couple of wks and see if that helps, as it should prevent and treat mange as it says on the packet, but your suggestions will be appreciated!!
Txks

An update. Six weeks on and he's still bald round the eyes and round his mouth and he's chewing his feet.  He's worse when he's been on grass, so we think it's an allergy to that.  We've been giving him piriton and that seems to stop the chewing paws. The vet wants to do a skin scrape, but we've held off until now trying other things - changing his diet, zinc supplements, various creams and lotions.  Our bitch stafford had skin problems on her chest at the same age and at the same time of year and we had her skin scrape done twice with negative results.  She grew out of it and was fine when the summer finished and has had no problems since.  I think I'll take him to the vets and get the scrape done just to discount mange as we've had no luck with the other remedies.

what about thses blood tests that determin alergies? we had 2 lots done on one of ours to get through the posibilities, we found out he has a allergy to dust and storage mites and flea salava... he does have bold patches in the corners of his eyes but with the injections hes now on it is growing back. If you have got a allergy problem or any skin problem really the yellow bottle of sanex i found its brilliant. It could be something in the grass thats causing the allergy.....
fiona

He's going in tomorrow to have the 'works'.  Skin scrape, blood tests, whatever they can do to find the cause.  He's got to be sedated though and I really hate leaving him there, even though he's in good hands.

My puppy had baldness around the eyes, and also under the ears leading round the skull. It was Demodex (dont know how you spell it) we applied Malasep shampoo from our vets. It eventually grew back. Demodex I think is an age thing, youngsters get but they sort of grow out of it. He is 6 months old now and has a full head of fur!

Rachel

Hi Charlie,

We took our puppy to the vet last wk and he was diagnosed with Demodectic Mange (Demodex).
We refused a skin scrape but they plucked some hears from his head and put them under a microscope.
The 'nasty' shampoo wash is the only cure for Demodex but it makes them really poorly and our vet said its not a nice stuff either.
Advocate is a new product on the market and it is licensed to cure Demodex, but results can be quite slow, 10-12wks. So we decided to stick with advocate (1 vile every 4wks) and at the same time try and boost his imune system. We changed his food from Royal Canine to Burns (he got a lovely shiny coat the second day he was on burns), we mix vegetables in his food (carrots, tomatoes, but in moderations), we avoid the grass (as wet grass can cause allergies), we put a couple of Echinachea drops in his food and we clean his ears with Benzoyl Benzoate.
We have noticed an improvement already, the hair on his head is growing and the patches are less visible.
So we hope it will go away completely.

I hope your dog gets better,
Let me know the outcome after the tests.

Regards,
MGRR

Our bitch had that lotion for mange, the one that smells like white spirit.  She didn't have mange or mites, but after two negative skin scrapes they decided that it may be the best way to treat her.  It didn't work.  We started to put Bob Grass cream on her and by the beginning of September (2 months later) she was fine.  Don't know whether it's a puppy thing, or perhaps it's to do with the grass or pollen.  It's funny that the two puppies we've had, have had similar problems at the same times of the year.  We do feed him vegetables with his food and he has a healthy diet.  The results should be through by next week, I'll let you know.

Hi, I have a 2yr old staffie bitch and I have the same problem, It started about 4 weeks after she had her litter of pups, I'm in Aus and was wondering if the shampoo is available here as well???
thanx
Sandra

I am sure that the problems from your bitch would be hormonal Sandra and the fur will grow back in time when she gets over the pregnancy.  The lotion which smells horrible is only available from vets and its for mange/mites. 

Some of the test results have come back and he tested negative for mites and mange.  And he doesn't have any allergies to grass, wheat or dairy.  I am sure it is a hormone teenage puberty thing.  Just today I looked at him and his fur is growing back and he looks really good again.  Some more test results are due next week.